The real estate market in Metro Vancouver is red hot and Langley is no exception.
“It’s a very busy market. Single family homes in Langley are very in demand. It’s not uncommon for a home to get multiple offers depending on its location,” said longtime Langley realtor Deanna Horn, of ReMax Treeland Realty.
Horn said single family homes in Langley are still affordable compared to Greater Vancouver prices and that helps to drive up the demand.
“Plus, Langley is a very desirable place to live. People are choosing Langley as a community they want to live in,” said Horn.
Langley is very close to the freeway, the Port Mann bridge has been upgraded for people’s commute, there are community centres, pools, some new schools, parks and shopping, making it a desirable community, she said.
Single family homes in Walnut Grove, Murrayville, Brookswood and the City of Langley are the hot locations.
Townhomes in certain locations or with master bedrooms on the main floor are also selling well.
Horn said she had a townhome up for sale in a retirement community and it had 11 showings in three days, with multiple offers.
“But we still have a lack of product of new townhomes with master bedrooms on the main,” she said.
The new homes in Willoughby are very popular with buyers coming from out of town.
Buyers are young families and retired people, with some Langleyites looking to upsize and downsize.
In a market this crazy, which shows no sign of slowing, it really is best to have a realtor working on your behalf, she said.
“Right now, putting subjects on the buying of a home isn’t possible and sellers must be ready to move and buyers must have their finances in order when looking,” she suggested. “But that’s why we are there to help people with all of these things. Our team is going like gang busters right now.”
A sellers market hasn’t been seen like this since 2004. Even with the economy limping, prices of homes continue to rise dramatically.
Property sales in the Fraser Valley soared in April compared to one year ago, increasing by 37 percent.
There were 2,009 sales processed on the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board Multiple Listing Service in April, compared to 1,470 in April of last year. This type of red hot market hasn’t been seen since 2004 and prior to that in 1991.
“April was a very active market,” says Jorda Maisey, FVREB president and Langley realtor who works out of the ReMax Little Oak Realty office in Fort Langley.
“The low cost of borrowing continues to attract first-time buyers and families looking to either downsize or upsize as they take advantage of the equity they’ve built up in their existing homes.”
Maisey explained what sellers are most looking for is a single family detached home.
“Depending on the location, some detached homes are selling in a matter of days, not weeks,” said Maisey.
With demand high and available product slim, the benchmark price of single family detached homes continues to increase in most areas.
Last month in Langley, 187 sales took place, compared to 136 in April 2014. The average price of a single family home this April rose to $657,928 compared to $609,407 in April 2014, which is a eight per cent increase.
There were more townhouses sold this April at 111, compared to 80 last April.
The average townhouse is going down in value from last April at an average price of $326,234 from $346,929 last April. The same trend holds for condos.
“For apartment owners, take heart, the condominium market in the Fraser Valley is improving. We are starting to see more activity at open houses and an increase in the number of sales; however, that market remains firmly in balance with plenty of selection and prices still flat or declining in certain areas,” said Maisey.
The busy selling season typically runs from January to April, but May has been hot as well thus far.